The occupation forces continued their raids on the Gaza Strip (Reuters)
On the 118th day of the war on Gaza, battles continued on various fronts in the Strip, especially in Khan Yunis, the Jabalia refugee camp, and the heart of Gaza. The resistance targeted vehicles in Tal al-Hawa and Sheikh Radwan, in addition to sniping at an officer. It seized 3 drones south of Gaza City, and spoke The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported new massacres committed by the occupation forces, while the number of martyrs exceeded 27,000.
As a result of the raids and clashes, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is getting worse, with the United Nations warning that the humanitarian system is on its way to collapse, and the World Health Organization warning that the residents of the Gaza Strip are “dying from hunger” and “being pushed to the brink of the abyss.”
Politically, the efforts of the negotiators are intensifying to reach a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire, with reports of an imminent breakthrough in this file after Qatar confirmed that Israel had agreed to a proposal in this regard, receiving a positive response from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and the occupation’s withdrawal from areas northwest of Gaza, without It remains to be known whether this was merely an Israeli tactical move related to developments in the battles in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza battles
At the field level, the Israeli occupation army launched new raids on various areas in the north, center and south of the Gaza Strip. Its forces also stormed the courtyard of Al-Amal Hospital, west of Khan Yunis in the southern region, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. Israel bombed the vicinity of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, the largest city in the southern Gaza Strip, where Hamas is waging battles on the ground with the occupation forces.
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced that its fighters targeted three Israeli vehicles with “Al-Yassin 105” shells on the outskirts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City. It also announced the seizure of three marches in the Zaytoun neighborhood and the destruction of three vehicles in Sheikh Radwan.
With the intensification and renewal of battles in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, the Al-Quds Brigades said that they bombed the positions of the occupation soldiers
The Israeli army said that it withdrew the brigade's fifty-five paratroopers from Khan Yunis, and announced that five of its officers and soldiers were wounded, while Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant spoke about dismantling the Hamas force in Khan Yunis, and the next step is Rafah.
For more details
New massacres
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the Israeli occupation committed 15 massacres in the Strip during the past 24 hours, killing 118 martyrs and about 190 wounded.
The Ministry of Health also indicated that the number of martyrs of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip had risen to 27,19, and the wounded to 66,139 since October 7. The Ministry also announced that more than 30,000 displaced people in schools near the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis are deprived of water, food, and infant formula.
Developments in the West Bank
In the West Bank, Israeli Army Radio reported that a Palestinian was injured and arrested after he attempted to carry out a ramming attack at a military point southeast of Hebron, without any casualties among the Israeli army.
The occupation forces prevented the Palestinian ambulance from approaching the injured person, providing ambulance to him, and transporting him, which made the injured person’s health condition unclear.
In a related context, the US State Department announced, on Thursday, the first package of sanctions under a new executive order targeting perpetrators of “acts of violence” in the West Bank.
For more details
The humanitarian situation is catastrophic
Regarding the humanitarian file, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the humanitarian system in Gaza was on its way to collapse.
Guterres added on the “X” platform that everyone in Gaza is hungry, and called for rapid, unhindered, expanded and sustainable access of humanitarian aid to all parts of the Strip.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warned of the repercussions of the worsening threat of famine in the northern Gaza Strip in light of the lack of aid, and considered that the decision to stop funding “is tantamount to a death sentence for the Palestinians.”
Director of Emergency Operations at the World Health Organization, Michael Ryan, warned that the war that began about four months ago left the residents of the Gaza Strip “dying of hunger” due to restrictions imposed on the entry of humanitarian aid.
In turn, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development warned in a report that the war had made the Gaza Strip “uninhabitable.”
For more details
Al-Ansari expressed his hope that the coming days will witness good news regarding the truce (Al-Jazeera)
Prisoner exchange deal
On Thursday, efforts intensified to reach a ceasefire and conclude a prisoner exchange deal, with a glimmer of hope looming on the horizon, with Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari confirming that the Paris meeting (which included the United States, Israel, Egypt, and Qatar) came up with one proposal regarding a ceasefire that was agreed upon by both sides. The Israeli movement, while Hamas, received the proposal in a positive atmosphere, awaiting its response.
In an interview organized by the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Al-Ansari expressed his "hope that the coming days will witness good news regarding the truce, even if the situation is volatile." He added that efforts will now focus on the form of a humanitarian truce, although there are many details that must be discussed.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that the Israeli War Council began a meeting at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, after which the mini-ministerial council will convene to discuss an exchange deal for prisoners and detainees with Hamas.
US President Joe Biden said that he is working hard to find a way to return the hostages, end the humanitarian crisis, and bring peace to Gaza and Israel through a two-state solution.
On the other hand, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that there will be no agreement and he does not want to mislead the families of the hostages, stressing that permanent peace will not be achieved “except when Arab hopes for establishing an Arab state on the ruins of the Jewish state fade,” as he put it.
For more details
Macron called for launching a political path for the peace process in the Middle East based on a two-state solution (Reuters)
The two-state solution
French President Emmanuel Macron said that a political path must be launched for the Middle East peace process based on the two-state solution.
Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of the “hostages,” as he put it.
The Associated Press also quoted British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly as saying, "We may recognize a Palestinian state after the ceasefire in Gaza without waiting for a final peace agreement."
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken asked his department to conduct a review and present political options regarding possible US and international recognition of a Palestinian state after the war in Gaza, two US officials familiar with the issue told Axios.
Philadelphia Axis (Al Jazeera)
Philadelphia Axis
Israeli Army Radio said on Thursday that Tel Aviv and Cairo are close to reaching understandings regarding the city of Rafah and the Philadelphia axis on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
The radio added that after recent weeks witnessed continuous dialogue between the two parties on security levels; Sources familiar with the details confirm that there is a rapprochement on the path to finding solutions to the sensitive issues raised, according to Anadolu Agency.
However, the Cairo News Channel, which is close to the Egyptian authorities, quoted an unnamed high-ranking security source denying that or installing any technological means in the axis.
For more details
Previous Israeli bombing of a village in southern Lebanon (French)
Lebanese Front
The Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it targeted three Israeli sites in the occupied Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba Hills, and said that its fighters bombed the spy equipment at the radar site, in addition to the Al-Samaqa and Ramtha military sites. The party confirmed that its fighters had achieved direct hits in the three sites.
Al Jazeera's correspondent reported that missiles were fired from southern Lebanon towards an Israeli site in the Metulla settlement.
An Israeli fighter jet launched a raid on the town of Al-Jubain in the western sector of southern Lebanon, and the surroundings of the towns of Kafar Shuba, Rashaya Al-Fakhar, Al-Habbariyeh, Al-Khiyam, Burj Al-Muluk, Yarin, and Al-Bustan were subjected to Israeli artillery shelling.
For more details
Austin: Washington will have a multi-pronged response in multiple locations (Getty)
Repercussions of the Jordan attack
CBS News reported on Thursday, citing American officials, that plans have been approved to launch a series of attacks over several days against a number of targets in Iraq and Syria, including Iranian facilities and personnel.
She said that the strikes came in response to the drone and missile attacks that targeted American forces in the region, including the drone attack last Sunday against an American base in Jordan, which resulted in the killing of 3 American soldiers and the wounding of more than 40 others.
On the other hand, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that American soldiers were killed by Iranian agents, and that Washington will have a multi-faceted response in multiple locations, indicating that the president “will not tolerate those of Iran’s extremist agents who killed our soldiers.”
He said that the attack on his country's forces in Jordan was heinous, adding, "We will continue to avoid expanding the conflict, but we will take the necessary measures to defend ourselves."
For more details
The US military said it bombed 10 drones that were prepared for launch in western Yemen at dawn on Thursday (French)
Red Sea axis
The Yemeni Houthi group targeted a British ship sailing south of Aden, hours after it announced the targeting of an American commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden that was heading to Israel.
Residents said that the Houthis fired a missile towards the sea from a camp in the city of Ibb, which is under their control in central Yemen.
The British "UKMTO" agency, which is run by the Royal Navy, reported in a statement that it had received "a report of an incident 57 nautical miles west of Hodeidah in Yemen," noting that "the ship reported an explosion at a distance from its side." "right."
On the other hand, the US military said that it bombed 10 drones that were prepared for launch in western Yemen at dawn on Thursday.
Central Command said in a statement that the strikes targeted "a Houthi drone ground control station and 10 drones that represented an imminent threat to commercial ships and US Navy ships in the region."
US forces also announced the downing of a ballistic missile and a number of drones in the Gulf of Aden.
For more details
The gunman with the words “For the sake of Gaza” behind him (social networking sites)
Hostage taking in solidarity with Gaza
Turkish media reported that an armed man stormed a factory of the American company "Procter & Gamble" near Istanbul, and took a number of hostages there.
According to the Turkish police, the man, whose nationality is unknown, stormed the factory located in the Gebze area of Kocaeli state, in protest against the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
Agence France-Presse, citing a union representing workers at the factory, said that the attacker was holding 7 people hostage, indicating that the rest of the workers had been released.
For more details
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies